Close calls reignite questions about Trump’s Secret Service detail
The article discusses recent security concerns surrounding former President Donald Trump, highlighting multiple incidents that have raised questions about the effectiveness of his Secret Service protection. Trump experienced two assassination attempts last year, leading to increased resources and reforms within the U.S. Secret Service under President Joe Biden’s management.
more recently, during an unplanned dinner at Joe’s Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab in Washington, D.C., members of the anti-war feminist group CODEPINK managed to protest loudly near trump’s table, despite prior security screenings. Additionally, the Secret Service failed to detect a handgun during a security check at Trump’s Virginia golf course, though the gun owner was not in close proximity to Trump and has since self-reported the oversight. The Secret Service official responsible for the screening has been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation.
Both Secret Service Director sean Curran and Deputy Director Matthew Quinn visited the golf club to review the incident. The agency defended it’s protocols, noting that all guests, including protesters, were screened before Trump’s arrival during the restaurant incident, and that the situation was quickly controlled. A White House spokesperson stated that the administration is conducting fact-finding regarding the recent episodes, while affirming Trump’s trust in the Secret Service.
CODEPINK organizers revealed they received a tip about Trump’s dinner plans, allowing them to make a last-minute reservation and prepare their protest, which involved direct confrontation. the group has also previously disrupted othre political figures, including President Biden. the episodes underscore ongoing scrutiny of the security measures ensuring Trump’s safety amid his 2024 campaign activities.
Secret Service in ‘fact-finding mode’ after close calls reignite questions about Trump’s protection
President Donald Trump faced two potentially serious security lapses recently, reigniting the questions about his personal safety that defined the 2024 campaign.
Trump survived two assassination attempts last year — one in Butler, Pennsylvania and the second at one of his Florida golf courses. The incidents led former President Joe Biden to surge resources to Trump’s protective U.S. Secret Service detail and initiate reviews and reforms at the agency itself.
And on Tuesday night, Trump faced another security lapse, albeit one that didn’t appear to place him in any immediate danger.
Members of the anti-war, feminist group CODEPINK crashed the president’s unscheduled trip to Joe’s Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab just a few blocks northeast of the White House, chanting “Free D.C. Free Palestine! Trump is the Hitler of our time!” directly next to Trump’s table.
The trip marked Trump’s first time eating at a restaurant in D.C., other than the restaurant in the formerly named Trump Hotel, since he entered office in 2017. It was meant to provide evidence that his crackdown on crime in Washington, D.C., was yielding results.
Furthermore, just one week prior, Secret Service failed to detect a handgun during a routine security screening of a member of Trump’s Sterling, Virginia, golf course. At the same time, the president himself was on the premises, as first reported by RealClearPolitics.
A senior Secret Service official confirmed the incident to the Washington Examiner on Wednesday afternoon, noting that the gun owner in question self-reported to the agency after realizing that his firearm had been missed during the screening.
“The U.S. Secret Service takes the safety and security of our sites very seriously and there are redundant security layers built into every one,” the official said in a statement. “Video surveillance indicates the club member was never in close physical proximity to the President’s location at any point while at the golf club.”
The Secret Service employee responsible for screening the club member in question has been removed from all operational duties and is currently on administrative leave until an internal investigation into their actions concludes, the official added.
A senior White House official told the Washington Examiner that both USSS Director Sean Curran and Deputy Director Matthew Quinn visited Trump’s Virginia club to be personally briefed on the matter.
A Secret Service official additionally defended the agency’s protocols regarding Tuesday’s disruption.
“All restaurant guests were screened prior to the President’s arrival, including the protestors who had made a reservation to gain access,” the official said. “The situation inside the restaurant was quickly resolved by Secret Service personnel who were actively engaged in ensuring the President’s safety and the dinner continued without further incident. The safety and security of the President remains our highest priority.”
A senior White House aide said that the administration was still in “fact-finding mode” regarding Tuesday but declined additional comment.
Joe’s Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab directed questions about when the protesters arrived to the public relations group Lettuce Entertain You, which declined to comment.
A spokesperson for Code Pink confirmed to the Washington Examiner that D.C. organizer Olivia DiNucci and other members of the group were able to gain access to Joe’s ahead of the president’s arrival after receiving a reliable tip that the president would be eating dinner there Tuesday night.
DiNucci explained in an interview with The Washingtonian that, after receiving the tip, she immediately made a last-minute reservation before biking to the restaurant to meet a small group of protesters, arriving roughly an hour before Trump showed up. The group proceeded to order dinner and drinks while planning out their shouted protests of the president.
DiNucci added that she had no idea that the restaurant would seat Trump out in the open, or that he’d be seated at the table located directly next to hers.
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Videos CODEPINK posted to Social Media show the disruptors engaging with Trump from just a few feet away.
The spokesperson for CODEPINK additionally told the Washington Examiner that the group “never passes up an opportunity when it arrives,” and that they had similarly confronted former President Joe Biden during a meal out in D.C. over the war in Ukraine.
“So I guess you can say we are equal opportunity disrupters,” the CODEPINK spokesperson explained.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt suggested that Trump remains confident in Curran and the Secret Service.
“As for the president, in the past he has said he trusts USSS and the job they do to protect him,” she wrote.
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